Seward and Lost Lake

With calm weather, avalanche danger has lowered. That said, the danger is never zero and it may still be possible to triggering an old wind slab in steep terrain or a cornice fall along ridgelines in the Snug/Lost Lake region. This area saw strong northwesterly winds last week that built wind slabs 1-2’ along ridges, in steep gullies, and below convex rollovers. Look for stiffer snow over softer snow and warning signs like shooting cracks or collapsing.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Avalanche Rescue Workshop at Glen Alps has been POSTPONED to Sunday, February 9th.  The workshop is free and all experience levels are welcome. Click HERE for more information.

We're on a brewery tour this week! Come out for two free evenings of conversations about the world of snow and avalanches:

• State of the Snowpack talk - Tuesday, February 4th, 6-7pm at Onsight Brewing in Anchorage. Join Dr. John Sykes and Mary Gianotti for a night of snowpack discussion at a new venue! More details HERE. 
• Forecaster Chat - Thursday, February 6th, 6-7:30 p.m. at Girdwood Brewing Co. in Girdwood. Andrew Schauer will discuss recent CNFAC research and highlight ways it can help your backcountry game. Details HERE.

The winds in the Cooper Landing and Seward area have finally calmed down. They have been blowing from a northerly direction all last week and even into Saturday. These winds created widespread wind effect in the mountains. This includes wind slabs, wind crusts, scoured areas, and sastrugi. For anyone headed out to this zone, remember that low danger doesn’t mean no danger. There are still issues to keep a watch for despite the generally stable snowpack.

Lingering Wind Slabs: There still could be some wind slabs that have not completely bonded to the old snow surface. If someone finds one of these they could trigger an avalanche. The good news is wind slabs should be fairly easy to identify by looking for places winds have deposited snow and loaded slopes. Additionally, watching for stiffer snow overlying softer snow and any cracks that shoot out from you or your machine. These are all clues the wind slab is still unstable. 

If you haven’t seen it yet, a wind slab was triggered in the Johnson Pass area that caught and seriously injured a skier. See that report HERE.

Cornices: As anyone that has been out in the mountains after January’s stormy weather knows, the cornices are big. We can’t stress enough how important it is to give these an extra wide berth. They could be easier to trigger as warm temperatures are now being seen above 2,000’ and sunshine will add to this warmth during the midday hours. They are notorious for breaking back further than expected and it’s also a good idea to limit time under them.